"I cannot think of anything more foolish than to say you want to have any kind of divestment or sanctions or boycott against a country that, when all is said and done, is the only democracy in the region, is the only place that has, in my view, a pluralist open society... Why boycott Israel? And by the way I think there is some misunderstanding over here about it. The supporters of this so-called boycott are really a bunch of corduroy-jacketed academics. They are by and large lefty academics who have no real standing in the matter and I think are highly unlikely to be influential on Britain. This is a very, very small minority in our country who are calling for this."

− Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Boris Johnson MP, November 2015

"I couldn’t be clearer: the boycotts, divestment and sanctions movement is wrong, it is unacceptable, and this party and this government will have no truck with those who subscribe to it. Our focus is the opposite – on taking our trading and investing relationship with Israel to the next level. That is why one of the first places Mark Garnier visited as a minister in the Department for International Trade was Israel. It’s why other ministers plan to visit in the New Year. We have the captains of British business and industry here in the audience, from a range of sectors, who will be vital to that effort."

− Then-Prime Minister Theresa May, December 2016

"I think it’s wrong on every level. My view is that the whole campaign is immoral, it singles out Israel as the sole object of delegitimisation… In fact we will do everything we can to have more and more trade with Israel."

− Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP, December 2015

"I have no tolerance for cultural boycotts of Israel... whether cultural, educational or divestment, the answer is the same... boycotts are a form of the oldest hatred in the world."

− Former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt. Hon. Sajid Javid MP, March 2015
Print Friendly, PDF & Email